A new study claims that 52% of US mobile phone users would opt-in to a wireless number directory, if privacy protection is strong enough.
A new market study by research firm The Pierz Group claims that 52% of US mobile phone users would be willing to opt-in to a Wireless 411 directory assistance/enquiry (DA/DQ) service, provided that there is some specific privacy protection in place.
In addition, 11% of survey respondants said they would be willing to list their numbers even without a privacy system in place, a five-fold increase over a similar survey last year. The Pierz Group believes that the difference is due to "ongoing media coverage of the topic" as well as the implementation last year of a national do-not-call list, which makes it illegal for telemarketers to contact phone numbers on an opt-in list. Why media coverage of the issue of privacy would result in fewer users being concerned about it is unclear.
Directory services originated in the 1950s when landline service offered a single phone per household from one national monopoly. However, such services have not caught up with the growing number of households with multiple phone lines or the growing number of mobile phones, particularly subscribers who have just a mobile phone and no landline.
While the majority of mobile Americans may be willing to participate in a directory service with adequate privacy protection, getting that privacy protection in place is non-trivial. In order to be effective the entire telephone industry, mobile and landline, would need to agree on a uniform privacy plan, from both an administrative and technological standpoint. Such an overhaul could be costly, and the costs of such a move would almost certainly end up as a surcharge on monthly telephone bills.
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